Goochland

Goochland is a census-designated place and the county seat of Goochland County, Virginia. The area was settled by French Huguenot colonists from 1700 to 1701, when King William III of England granted them land along the Virginia frontier. Goochland County was founded in 1728 as the first county formed from Henrico Shire, and it was named for Lieutenant Governor William Gooch, 1st Baronet. Gooch promoted settlement along the frontier to insulate the Virginia colony from Native American and French settlements in the Ohio country, and Goochland County became a rural region to the north of Richmond. In 2010, Goochland proper had 861 residents, while Goochland County had a population of 22,685 people.